³ In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God^(A) of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols. ⁴ Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles^(B) and the idols. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.^{(C) 5} He burned^(D) the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem.

⁴ The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers^(A) to remove^(B) from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel. ⁵ He did away with the idolatrous priests appointed by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the towns of Judah and on those around Jerusalem—those who burned incense^(C) to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts.^{(D) 6} He took the Asherah pole from the temple of the Lord to the Kidron Valley^(E) outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder^(F) and scattered the dust over the graves^(G) of the common people.^{(H) 7} He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes^(I) that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah.

⁸ Josiah brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba^(J) to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He broke down the gateway at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, the city governor, which was on the left of the city gate. ⁹ Although the priests of the high places did not serve^(K) at the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.

¹⁰ He desecrated Topheth,^(L) which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom,^(M) so no one could use it to sacrifice their son^(N) or daughter in the fire to Molek. ¹¹ He removed from the entrance to the temple of the Lord the horses that the kings of Judah^(O) had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court^[a] near the room of an official named Nathan-Melek. Josiah then burned the chariots dedicated to the sun.^(P)

¹² He pulled down^(Q) the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof^(R) near the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courts^(S) of the temple of the Lord. He removed them from there, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble into the Kidron Valley.^{(T) 13} The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones Solomon^(U) king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable^(V) god of the people of Ammon.^{(W) 14} Josiah smashed^(X) the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones.^(Y)

¹⁵ Even the altar^(Z) at Bethel, the high place made by Jeroboam^(AA) son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin—even that altar and high place he demolished. He burned the high place and ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole also. ¹⁶ Then Josiah^(AB) looked around, and when he saw the tombs that were there on the hillside, he had the bones removed from them and burned on the altar to defile it, in accordance^(AC) with the word of the Lord proclaimed by the man of God who foretold these things.

¹⁷ The king asked, “What is that tombstone I see?”

The people of the city said, “It marks the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and pronounced against the altar of Bethel the very things you have done to it.”

¹⁸ “Leave it alone,” he said. “Don’t let anyone disturb his bones^(AD).” So they spared his bones and those of the prophet^(AE) who had come from Samaria.

¹⁹ Just as he had done at Bethel, Josiah removed all the shrines at the high places that the kings of Israel had built in the towns of Samaria and that had aroused the Lord’s anger.

⁶ In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, ⁷ he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder^(A) and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

⁸ In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.

⁴ “Go up to Hilkiah^(A) the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected^(B) from the people. ⁵ Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair^(C) the temple of the Lord— ⁶ the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple.^{(D) 7} But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”^(E)

⁹ They went to Hilkiah^(A) the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the temple of God, which the Levites who were the gatekeepers had collected from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Then they entrusted it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the Lord’s temple. These men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple. ¹¹ They also gave money^(B) to the carpenters and builders to purchase dressed stone, and timber for joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.^(C)

¹² The workers labored faithfully.^(D) Over them to direct them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, descended from Kohath. The Levites—all who were skilled in playing musical instruments—^{(E) 13} had charge of the laborers^(F) and supervised all the workers from job to job. Some of the Levites were secretaries, scribes and gatekeepers.

The Book of the Law Found^(G)(H)

¹⁴ While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses.

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law^(A) in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. ⁹ Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” ¹⁰ Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.^(B)

¹¹ When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,^(C) he tore his robes. ¹² He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam^(D) son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant:^{(E) 13} “Go and inquire^(F) of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger^(G) that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

¹⁴ Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet^(H) Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

¹⁵ She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶ ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster^(I) on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book^(J) the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷ Because they have forsaken^(K) me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,^[a] my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ ¹⁸ Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire^(L) of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: ¹⁹ Because your heart was responsive and you humbled^(M) yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse^[b](N) and be laid waste^(O)—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace.^(P) Your eyes^(Q) will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”

So they took her answer back to the king.